Transcriptome divergence and the loss of plasticity in Bacillus subtilis after 6,000 generations of evolution under relaxed selection for sporulation.
We used microarrays to identify the causes of sporulation deficiencies in Bacillus subtilis after 6,000 generations of evolution. We found that sporulation loss did not result from large-scale deletions; therefore, it must have resulted from smaller indels and/or substitutions. Transcription patterns of one strain versus its ancestor showed that sporulation was not initiated and suggested that sporulation loss may be part of an overall decline in plasticity.
Maughan
Heather
H
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA.
Birky
C William
CW
Nicholson
Wayne L
WL
D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D017931:DNA Primers; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D017353:Gene Deletion; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D014644:Genetic Variation; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D017384:Sequence Deletion; D013171:Spores, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*
D017931:DNA Primers; D004269:DNA, Bacterial